The Night He left
by spacecattet
Summary: Nights we remember are the ones etched into her mind forever. They're memories we hold close; be it good or bad. Brittany's was of two very similar, and very different nights. Alike not in the events that enfolded, but alike in the ways it would affect herself. And that night, she seemed to recall the events, like she usually did when her feet strayed to a familiar place...


**This is a VERY short story. Not really a story, to be honest. More like a mini story to look at her life, and what really drives one of my main pjo / boo characters. Anywho... please enjoy! c:**

* * *

Her body ached. To say the least, Brittany had had a long day. After a quest that had taken nearly four days to complete, her muscles felt ready to give in. And so she saw it upon herself to seek out a place of peace and quiet; somewhere she could rest and think.

It was a place she often tended to go. And even if it caused a few tears to be shed, it was a place that made her truly happy.

Her feet guided her on the familiar path, as if on auto pilot. Her curly brown hair bounced along, curling behind her ears and past her shoulders. She blinked at the fastly approaching place her body was taking her.

It wasn't much; just a small rotting dock sitting over calm ocean waves. You could hear the water lapping at the wood, the sway of the trees in the distance. Most importantly, you could hear the crickets chirping from far off.

It looked exactly at it had five years ago. Under a star lit sky, with the water almost glowing because of the moon. She was fond of this place. It held a tender spot in her heart, growing warm whenever she set foot into the sacred place.

This had been where _it_ had happened. And even if it had happened so many years ago, it felt fresh on her memory.

His hair had been curly that day. He tended to straighten it out, saying he hated his natural hair. However Brittany had always loved it. It seemed less fake, made his already perfect face less perfect. Her eyes would crave a day where it would appear curly than straight.

His skin was tanned from the long days in the sun, freckles barley even peeking from his face. He tended to get like that at camp. She, on the other hand, only would get sunburned. She didn't mind though. Because most days when she did, it was spent with him.

To say the least she was obsessed. Her heart solely belonged to him and him alone. If he commanded her to do something, her will would not let her disobey.

A small smile, even if sad, quirked on her face. It dimpled her cheeks and she blinked back the stinging sensation of tears. It felt good to reminiscence. Though it also reminded her of the worse memories; the ones that led her to this very spot.

And suddenly, she found herself being whisked back into those two very different, and yet very similar days. The starting of something bigger, the starting of something that would shake her world to the very core.

* * *

 _She found her brown eyes staring imploringly at him, a mischievous smile spilling over her face. "Well? Didn't I tell you this was a great spot?"_

 _She saw him staring out across the water. It was the Fourth of July, and they had both set out to find good fireworks spots. When she had stumbled across this old gem, she could barley contain her excitement. Off she raced to find her best friend and vastly growing love of her life._

 _"It'll definitely do the trick," he answered with a wide smile._

 _She nodded and stared out across the water. Stars lit the indigo sky. It would almost be time for the fireworks to happen. And she couldn't wait._

 _It was three years since she and him had met; three long years of battling and questing together. She smiled widely at the memory and leaned a little closer. It wasn't more of an action than a question._

 _And she felt relieved when his body responded, as if natural. His hand brushed hers lightly, before wrapping entirely around it. He felt warm, and she relished in it as it was rather chilly that night._

 _"I've actually been meaning to talk to you..." she began quietly, cursing at the little butterflies dancing around her stomach._

 _"Mm?" he asked nonchalantly._

 _He probably guessed where this was going, and she couldn't tell if he was ecstatic or bored. That was always the problem. He was so hard to read sometimes, and it drove her absolutely crazy._

 _She hesitated. And then, summing up her courage, she began with, "We've known each other for quite a while. I mean - you know. We've been through a lot... together..."_

 _She trailed off, the nervous edge returning. So much for courage. She'd fasted monsters less scary than this moment._

 _"Well obviously. I don't think there's any other person I feel most comfortable with," he replied. His head turned a fraction so he could stare at me form the corners of his eyes. There was a subtle smile on his face, just barley enough to cause dimples._

 _That gave her hope. Her heart beat quicker and she studied the water for a few moments. She just wanted to hold his hand a little bit longer. Because even if she already knew what his answer would be, she was still insecure. She still felt as if the most important thing in her life would slip away, just like that._

 _Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to stare at him more seriously. "What I'm getting at is..." she trailed off, swallowing nervously. Just spit it out. "I... want to be..."_

 _She seemed to fumble with what to say next. Though when he spoke, he had no trouble with finishing her sentence._

 _"To be more than friends?"_

 _That took her by surprise. He always did that; he always stole the moment from her and instead made it his own. She pouted her lip childishly and glared at him. Though her expression faltered at his own._

 _There was a warm, if not impish look on his face now. His smile had grown to a wide grin and his brown eyes glowed at her._

 _Her heart skipped a few beats and she swallowed in surprise. If she was to imagine how love would feel, she would picture this moment. Because her heart felt like it would literally explode - that if she contained any more emotion for him it would burst._

 _"Well?" he asked suddenly. "Answer the question already. The suspense is driving me crazy."_

 _His body moved closer to my own and I stumbled to find the proper words. How could I not, when he was only an inch away now?_

 _It was feeble and hardly audible, but I squeaked, "...yes."_

 _And it sounds corny, or at least it does to a lot of my friends, but this is exactly how it happened. He leaned forward and kissed me. There were fireworks going off; both in my head and in the distance. They had happened at the exact moment she'd dreamed only would happen in movies._

 _And even if this spot had been for viewing them the best, she suddenly could care less about them. She only cared about how close she could possibly get to him. How much distance she could make disappear; how much more she could lean in to that heated kiss..._

* * *

Her thoughts cleared and she was suddenly staring at the water. It washed lazily against the rotted oak beneath her feet. Subconsciously she'd walked towards it and sat down. She clutched a round red stone in her hand, pulled from her pocket.

Her eyes trailed to the stone. It was oddly shaped. One could say it looked like a heart. That's what he had said the day he'd given it to her. That it represented their relationship.

He had always been cheesy like that, and that's what she'd loved about him.

Her eyes narrowed and her brows arched upward to form a frown. She wasn't crying... yet. Though she could feel her emotions quickly slipping from her grasp. She usually held them so tightly - keeping what she felt in a calm and collected expression.

Though she found it hard to keep a hold of it. Not after that previous memory, and not after the memory that was quickly engulfing her.

* * *

 _They were standing on the same dock. The same one he'd kissed her on; the same one he'd asked her to be his girlfriend on._

 _She was staring at the shape looming out of the water. It bore its fangs at them and hissed, swaying back and forth to its own rhythm. Its eyes were a beady black, its scaly skin the color of sea foam._

 _The large sea serpent sprang forward. It barley missed the both of them by an inch, her doing out of the way. She heard rustling from her boyfriend a little ways away. Thank the gods he'd dodged in time, as well._

 _Though when her eyes met what scene lay before her, her mind had trouble processing it._

 _There was... blood?_

 _Crimson drops stained the darkly colored oak. It slowly dribbled into the water belong, staining it an equally red color. And someone knelt before that pool of blood, which seemed to lead to their stomach._

 _Her breathing now came in quick gasps. It didn't make any sense. He was capable and strong; so why was he crying in pain?_

 _It suddenly registered he hadn't been as quick as she'd hoped. That her love was bleeding out before her very eyes. All because of a damned sea serpent, all because she wasn't strong enough to protect him._

 _She let out a scream, snapping out of her shock and springing to her feet. She screamed his name repeatedly, but no response. He slumped over in his own blood and his body stopped moving. Not even a wisp of breath could be detected._

 _Her precious feeling, her love. Taken away from her forever._

 _Her eyes snapped onto the beast looming before her. An anger she could not later describe overtook her; a white hot rage threatening to drown her entire being. She'd never been so angry in her life. Rightfully so she was, however it was scary now that she looked back on it._

 _Brittany drew an arrow from her quiver and flung her bow from her shoulders. Her hands, well practiced in the action, met the leather that steadied the arrow's shaking._

 _A calm went level with that rage. She was determined to kill the thing that had taken him away from her. She needed to. She could feel it inscribed as her very being. Taking vengeance on that creature was her top goal._

 _She let the arrow fly and heard a satisfying screech._

 _The creature waved madly in the air, curling this way and that. Though it didn't appear to be dead. The large thing only seemed to be hurt badly. It hissed and made spitting noises, clicking its teeth together in anger._

 _Though it seemed to have realized today would not be its day. It would not taste anymore demigod blood. So suddenly it happened, before she could even react. The fully intact monster slithered down in a flash, sinking deeper into the dark watery depths of the ocean..._

* * *

She forced herself from the memory. It was painful. She was over the revenge, but not over his death. Looking back on it now, she'd not been strong enough to kill it. She knew now that she would be. Though she had no desire to kill it for his sake. Her life had changed.

And even if she blamed it, she would kill it solely for the sake of protecting those she loved.

Her eyes trailed from the stone to the water rippling in wave like patterns. Someday this memory would heal; someday she would be touched by another so tenderly that it wouldn't hurt as bad. She would always miss him; he'd been her first love, after all.

However she was stronger. She was one who pressed on through hardships, and this was no different than the ones she experienced every time. Five years in a row, to be exact...


End file.
